Seductive leather accessories from an emerging experimental designer

Zana Bayne‘s eponymous line of accessories delves into the tough-as-nails heritage of leather. A subversive wardrobe addition, the stacked shoulders of her wing harness, for example, stick up jaggedly like armor. “The thing that I love most about accessories is their power to transform or slightly alter your appearance depending on the context within they are worn,” she tells CH. “Obviously, my pieces have a root in S&M, but how and where you wear it is your choice.”

The Seattle-born 21-year-old studied sculpture and conceptual art at the San Francisco Art Institute before gaining hands-on experience with styling and photography in Berlin. The upshot is an approach to fashion both disciplined and experimental. “I came into working with leather without any prior training, so I’ve really let the craft guide me,” Bayne says, who occasionally creates paper prototypes before executing fully developed piece.

Bayne created her first harness in San Francisco a year ago, further developing the line after she settled in New York City last August. On her popular style blog, Bayne (pictured above left and right) unveils prototypes and new designs to customers, wearing and road-testing them herself. “It is of utmost importance to me that what my customers receive in the mail is just as good, if not better, than what I show online,” she says.

The emerging designer already has two collaborations under her belt, with like-minded labels Pleasure Principle and Chris Habana. Her handmade pieces, including boot straps and versatile belts, sell on her Etsy site from $55, where you can also pick up the wing harness and epaulets ($75-$140).